My Love for the RFA Process

In free agency, there are so many rumors and double talk that for the most part, you're better off just sitting back and watching the dominoes fall rather then try and predict who is going to sign where. My favorite times are when a player claims that don't want to really leave the team that they are on but the money is simply to enticing, it always makes for an interesting situation but one that doesn't come around as often as you would think. That isn't a bad thing either, it's a great thing for both the players and teams that there is something called restricted free agency.

Now I know that if you're reading this you more then likely know what restricted free agency is but after having a conversation about it with someone I work with I don't think I ever realized just how much I like the fact that it is exists in the sports worlds of the NFL and the NBA.

The way it works in the NBA is once a player gets to his restricted year, the team has to sign that player to a qualifying offer and after they do that, they have the right to match any contract the player signs with any other team that off-season as well as the ability to work out their own agreement with him. The player can either go out and find himself the best deal out there and see if his team will match the offer or simply wait a year and become an unrestricted free agent.

As for the NFL, it's slightly different. It works pretty much the same way but instead of a qualifying offer, the team places a tender on a player that is worth a draft pick depending on how much the tender is worth. Then, if another team signs that player the team with the players rights can either match the contract or let that player go for the draft pick that the player was tendered for.

My reasons for liking it are fairly simple, it gives teams in both leagues a chance to either pay their players fairly based on what they are getting from an open market or get some compensation for that player. It rewards teams for drafting well and gives them time to plan ahead in case a player decides that he is more then likely going to be leaving by not signing a long-term extension before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Well, unless you're Cleveland. And while it isn't something that important, it is an aspect of the sports world that I think gets overlooked and if used correctly, can help keep a team on the right track while giving the player options.